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On Monday morning, activists pushing for more West Island trains said Transport Minister Robert Poëti told them Quebec would pump $80 million into the Vaudreuil-Hudson line to add four to six more departures per day within two years.

At his own news conference later, Poëti first referred to that cash injection to buy new train equipment as an Agence métropolitaine de transport “proposal,” then said he is committed to spending the money to boost Vaudreuil-Hudson service.

But at the AMT, a spokesperson said the authority has no timeline for the purchase of new train cars — and even if they are delivered, they would not be for Vaudreuil-Hudson, which links off-island communities, the West Island and downtown.

The extra cars the AMT wants to buy would be for the Deux-Montagnes line to replace cars that will soon have to be refurbished, as well as for the planned addition of extra departures on the St-Jérôme line, said AMT spokesperson Claudia Martin.

In addition, more departures can’t be added to Vaudreuil-Hudson until upgrades are completed on the line’s infrastructure. It’s unclear when that work will be completed.

In 2012, the AMT announced major upgrades to the line, saying it might add six extra departures in 2014. Then, in 2013, it said the earliest service could be boosted was 2015. Now, it’s not even venturing a timeline.

Adding to the confusion: the AMT issued a public tender for 23 new train cars in December but cancelled the order. The purchase — cost about $89 million — is still listed in the AMT’s 2014-2016 spending wish list.

By the end of day Monday, the AMT was refusing to answer follow-up questions about its plans, referring queries to Poëti’s office.

During the spring election campaign, Premier Philippe Couillard promised that improvements to West Island transit would be a priority for his government.

On Monday, the Train de l’Ouest Coalition, headed by former MNA Clifford Lincoln, met Poëti to press him to follow through on a previous Liberal government’s pledge to significantly boost service on Vaudreuil-Hudson.

In 2011, Quebec launched studies on how it could increase train frequency on Vaudreuil-Hudson to 86 weekday trains, up from the current, mostly rush-hour 27.

After the meeting, Lincoln said that, as a first step, Poëti “has put $80 million right away into improving our service. It’ll mean buying new equipment, which takes time — 18 months to two years.” He said two to three trains per direction would be added.

Poëti told the coalition he would look into its suggestion that the AMT buy used equipment to increase service more quickly, Lincoln said.

At a news conference later about the Ville-Marie Expressway, Poëti was asked about West Island trains.

He said the AMT will present some information to him about longer-term West Island transit improvements by the end of the summer. Studies on a long-term solution are due at the end of 2015, though Poëti said he wants the AMT to work faster.

Maria Tutino, mayor of Baie d’Urfé and Train de l’Ouest Coalition member, said Poëti told the group that a rapid link between the West Island and downtown “will be on track” before the end of the current Liberal mandate, in four or five years.

“We are just as skeptical about promises as you are — I used to be in politics so I know what it’s like,” Lincoln told reporters.

“The difference here is that the premier has committed himself before and during the election, and has written to us after the election.”

The coalition “has the feeling that the message has been heard. Everybody else has the métro and public transit that works and (the West Island is) left out” Lincoln said.

After years of study, the AMT is still mulling several scenarios.

A committee that includes the AMT, the airport authority, CN and CP has come up with four wildly different options to boost transit between the West Island and downtown. They range from improving current bus and train service to an elaborate light-rail transit system linking the Fairview Pointe-Claire mall, Trudeau Airport in Dorval and downtown.

Price range for the scenarios: $1.8 billion to $3.9 billion.

Lincoln said Quebec should opt for major improvements to Vaudreuil-Hudson, which currently shares tracks with freight trains.

Boosting the existing train line could remove 3,500 to 4,000 cars from Highways 20 and 40, which will become even more congested as work on the new Turcot Interchange ramps up, he noted.

“The trains are going to be a fantastic mitigation point. That’s the best way of transporting a lot of people at the same time — far more than buses or anything else.”

He said an LRT — the option favoured by the airport authority — is too expensive. Lincoln suggested the airport could be connected to downtown via Vaudreuil-Hudson trains, which travel through Dorval, close to the airport.

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